Community Brag Posts

We made this out of walnut we milled a couple years ago. We didn’t stain just used Dixie Bell Gatorhide to seal it with. Not sure why the pictures turned sideways when they uploaded.

I have been wanting a bench for this space for years. I adapted the plans to fit the baskets I was already using. I used 2x8s to make the seat deeper. Final dimensions are 60" wide by 17.5 deep by 18" high.
My actual cut list:
2 - 2x4 by 57" front and back apron
4 - 2x6 by 18" legs
2 - 2x8 by 57" seat
6 - 2x2 by 14.5" seat supports
2 - 2x4 by 6.5" side spacer between legs
I used a Kreg jig for the first time to attach the support pieces to the side aprons. I used the same hollow made by the Kreg to add a few screws through the support pieces into the top.

I found this oak character slab at a local lumber yard and fell in love with it. I loved it so much I bought a second one. After torching the slab using the Shou Sugi Ban method, I scraped away the charred surface and used tung oil to complete the finish. I added two more coats of tung oil allowing at least 24 hours in between each coat. The legs are made from rough cut pine from the same lumber yard (these guys take good care of me!). I also used the same charring method on the legs and feet along with tung oil. Check out all the detail and character of the edges! This bench could easily be used as a coffee table. It is approximately 6 feet long and 30 inches tall.

This was my first build, and it went really well. My dad helped me to cut the wood, and I was able to completely assemble, prime, and paint them by myself in the basement.
I decided not to use MDF, instead I used plywood, I think they turned out to be quite sturdy.

I modified the plan I got from this site to better fit the size we wanted (a bit longer) and to fit the style we wanted (without angled picnic table style legs). Sorry pics are sideways or upside down. They weren't on my end...

We love this bench!! It was so easy and cheap to make. I spent $15 on the wood.

When I find clothes I like, I buy more of the same. Apparently this habit applies to furniture, too. This fall I built two cube bookcases for my 8 year old's bedroom. Last weekend, I built another, this time for my 6 year old. What can I say? The first two worked out so well I needed another!

For this bookcase, I had the lumber (at least the big boards, not the 1x2s) cut at Lowe's. The cuts were precise and square -- everything I want in a cut!

Just as I did with the first two bookcases, I used the Kreg Jig to put this one together and then I topped it with 1/4" MDF, attaching mitered cove molding underneath. At some point this winter I realized that my miter saw was out of square. I'm not good at fixing mechanical things, so my husband did me the favor of squaring the saw for me. Wow, what a difference! My cuts are so much more precise now that the saw is square again. Whew!

One change I made from the first two cube bookcases I built was in the finish. Instead of building and then finishing, I painted the surfaces that would end up on the inside of the bookcase before assembling the whole thing. Last time it was a bit of a nightmare getting into all the corners and inside tops of each cube. Painting the inside ahead of time was much simpler. Once the unit was put together, I sanded and painted the outside, touched up the inside, and then added two coats of poly to both the inside and the outside.